


Through the ages

by thunderingskies



Series: I will love you through simple and the struggle [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood Friends, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Growing Up Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 03:43:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderingskies/pseuds/thunderingskies
Summary: Sleepovers are a big part of Tooru and Hajime's friendship; as they get older, things might change, but this tradition stays the same.





	Through the ages

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amalas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amalas/gifts).



> Happy birthday, Amalas! I'm so happy to be able to call you my friend! You are such a wonderful person - you are so kind and sweet, not to mention talented! I love all of our conversations and just general screaming :D I hope you have an awesome day, and that this year is really great for you! <3

 

As a kid, summertime is Tooru’s favourite time of year for two reasons.

The first reason is that his birthday is in summertime. It’s one of the few times he’s allowed to have multiple people over, and he doesn’t have to bug his parents to let a friend stay the night, laughing and playing games and enjoying themselves.

The second reason (and what he likes even more) is when his parents take him and his sister out to spend long weekends at the lake house. Now that they’re old enough - and after much pestering - Tooru’s parents allow him and his sister to each bring a friend along, and Tooru has _so much_ that he wants to share with Hajime.

After a long day of playing out in the sun, catching crayfish and splashing each other in the cool water, Tooru can already feel exhaustion pulling at him, but he brushes it away as he climbs into the futon set up in the living room for him and Hajime. The blankets are cool, but he knows they won’t be for too much longer.

Hajime’s rummaging through their bin of movies, pulling out a tape that he likes and sliding it into the player. He pads back to the futon after turning on the old television set up for them, climbing in beside Tooru without hesitation.

Tooru slides over to give him some more room, laying his head back on the pillow and rubbing at his eyes.

“Tired?” Hajime asks, propping himself up on an elbow. He ignores the trailers for new movies playing on the television and reaches over, brushing some hair out of Tooru’s face.

His fingers feel cool on Tooru’s probably sunburned face. It’s nice.

“A little,” Tooru admits, blinking slowly. Hajime drops back down on the bed and Tooru slides a little closer so that their shoulders are touching. “What did you pick?” He asks, turning over towards the television.

Hajime shifts to move his shoulder so that he can tuck his arm under Tooru’s neck. “That magic one that you like so much.”

“Really?!” Tooru turns towards him and grins, excitement evident in his face.

“Yeah,” Hajime responds, turning to face the television set. “You were sayin’ you wanted to watch it again… so…”

Tooru laughs and shoves Hajime a little, who retaliates by jumping back on him and pushing him back to his side of the futon. They both end up in a pile on the floor with a _thump_ and this starts a tickle war, the both of them laughing and trying to best the other, neither wanting it to end until Tooru’s fighting tears from laughing so hard-

“I give!” he chokes out the words between laughter, clutching his stomach; Hajime’s grinning a mile wide when he pulls back, trying to quiet his laughter so that they don’t wake Tooru’s parents.

“That makes thirty-two for me,” Hajime says, pushing himself up to his knees and offering a hand to help Tooru up. “And-”

“Yes, twenty-eight for me! Don’t worry Iwa-chan, I’ll catch up.” Tooru takes his hand and they both stumble back to their feet. Hajime pulls Tooru back into the futon by the hand, flopping down on top of each other as they catch their breath.

Tooru cuddles up next to Hajime and doesn’t even care that he misses the rest of the movie when he falls right to sleep, happy and warm and _safe._

* * *

Middle school is where everything starts to change.

Tooru becomes so _aware_ of the fact that his relationship with Hajime isn’t… normal.

Other boys their age don’t hug.

They don’t hold hands.

They don’t cuddle up together when they watch movies, they don’t share a bed when it’s late and someone wakes up from a nightmare in a cold sweat, shaking and afraid-

They just don’t.

And Tooru doesn’t know if he and Hajime are supposed to keep doing these things, either, so he starts to… pull back.

He doesn’t reach for Hajime as soon as they’re in the same room to pull him into a tight hug. He doesn’t reach for his hand when he’s scared, and he stops cuddling up him during their sleepovers.

Well, he tries to, anyway.

Having Hajime over for a sleepover after school now means more awkward silences, more hesitation and more questioning everything that he does.

Frankly, Tooru hates it, but he doesn’t know any way around it.

He sighs as he flops out on the couch after they finish up their homework one evening, the week of school long and arduous. Volleyball practice has been getting tougher and he feels it in his every movement, in the way that his arms ache and his legs are so much more sore than usual. He wasn’t sure if Hajime was going to want to come over for their weekly sleepover-

But he does.

“Move over,” Hajime says, nudging Tooru with his foot before flopping down next to him. They’ve finished dinner _and_ their homework so they now have a few hours before they’ll need to crash. He sighs loudly, leaning his head back on the couch and closing his eyes. “Your couch’s so much comfier than mine.”

“Well I’m pretty sure yours is a thousand years old, Iwa-chan,” Tooru says, putting his feet up on the coffee table.

Hajime snorts in laughter. “Yeah, probably. Oh, hey - I brought that new game that my mom got me. Wanna try it out?”

Tooru nods, pleased with the suggestion. “Yeah! I heard it was pretty fun.” He slides off the couch, heading to the television to set up his console. He gets it all plugged in before Hajime’s walking over, opening up the game case and pulling out the disk-

He’s _so close_ , Tooru can feel how warm he is, _damn it_ he wants nothing more than to just cuddle up next to him like they used to, wrap his arms around him and snuggle up to his chest-

He feels so, _so_ stupid.

Why does he miss someone who’s right here next to him?

He misses him, _them_ \- how they used to be - desperately.

Hajime’s close, and he could just reach out and feel him-

The moment slips through his fingers. Hajime lifts himself back up and returns to the couch, flopping down and grabbing a controller from himself. If he noticed anything off about Tooru he doesn’t say anything, instead throwing him a confused look.

“You comin’?” He asks, holding out a controller for Tooru.

He blinks slowly, takes a deep breath and collects himself.

Hajime isn’t gone.

“‘Course,” Tooru responds, flashing him a smile and making his way back to the couch. He steals the controller from Hajime’s hands, flopping himself out next to him.

It’s not the same as before, not by a mile - but sitting next to Hajime, feeling their shoulders brush, and knowing he’s _here_ -

That’s comforting.

It’s something. 

* * *

 “Iwa-chan, wanna come over tonight after school?” Tooru leans against his locker in the volleyball club room, slinging his gym bag over his shoulder. “My mom’s in Tokyo tonight for work and she left some money for takeout.”

Hajime looks up as he pulls down his shirt, tossing his gym clothes into his bag. “Overnight?” He asks, zipping it closed.

“Yeah, if you want to.” Tooru shrugs casually.

Hajime grins. “Sure, so long as I get to pick the movie for tonight.” He slams his locker closed, ignoring Tooru’s noises of protest.

“If you are making me watch some shitty car chase movie again, Iwa-chan, I swear to God-”

“Do we have a deal?” Hajime offers a hand to Tooru, his grin only growing in size.

Tooru sighs. “Fine.” He takes his hand, shaking it, resigned.

Hajime laughs as he pulls Tooru out of the club room, letting go of his hand as they start the walk back home.

It’s familiar.

Tooru loves it.

They walk back together, laughing and talking, trading jabs and jokes, hashing out parts of their day. Hajime laughs when Tooru tells him about how Makki face-planted walking into their math class that morning; Tooru loses it when Hajime tells him about how his dog ran into the house last night with muddy feet and got pawprints _everywhere_.

It’s their last year of high school and they’re _finally_ getting back to where they used to be.

When they get back to Tooru’s house, Hajime walks in first, dropping his bag in the living room and going straight for the kitchen.

“What are we ordering?” He asks, dropping himself down on one of the kitchen stools and reaching for the stack of take-out menus that Tooru’s mom always keeps tucked in a shelf for safekeeping. “Indian?”

Tooru wrinkles his nose, following Hajime in and dropping his elbows down on the counter. “Mh, I’m not really feeling it. How about Chinese?” He picks a menu out of the stack, flipping it towards Hajime.

“Nah, I had that just a few nights ago at home.” He starts to thumb through the menus, ignoring Tooru’s whine of protest.

Tooru closes his eyes, deep in thought, clearly taking this very seriously. “Okay, okay - how about-”

“-Pizza?” Hajime interrupts, flashing him the menu from their favourite takeout place.

Tooru smiles. “You read my mind, Iwa-chan!”

“Okay, you order.” Hajime passes him the menu, which Tooru shakes his head at.

“Uh, no, I _distinctly_ remember that it is your turn to order.”

Hajime makes a face, “There is no way in hell, I called the last time when we had tacos-”

Tooru stands up straight. “I know just how to solve this problem.”

Hajime eyes him carefully, sliding off of the stool, barefeet on the linoleum. “I hope you know what you’re starting,” he says, lips curling into a smile.

He gives Tooru all of two seconds before he’s jumping towards him, playfully grabbing his shirt, pulling him in close. Tooru fights back; both of them desperate to get the other to give in, to hold them still for a couple of seconds to find out who is going to win.

“Not- fair- Iwa-chan, you’ve gotten stronger-”

Hajime laughs, ruffling Tooru’s hair as he wraps his arms around him, trying to get him to stop struggling without the both of them hitting the floor. “I’ve gotta do something, you and your damn long limbs-”

Tooru snorts with laughter, letting all of his weight drop and going completely dead weight in Hajime’s arms.

“Tooru! Don’t you go boneless on me!” He groans, gritting his teeth as he struggles to hold him up, dropping down to his knees but still keeping Tooru restrained. “I swear, you are gonna get it-”

“Okay! I give!” Tooru laughs, wiggling to get out of Hajime’s strong grip. “I’ll call, okay? Let me get my phone.” Hajime gives him a hard look before pulling back his arms, letting Tooru drop to the floor with an unceremonious _thump_.

All of this, it’s exciting and nerve wracking - but in a good way.

A positive way.

Tooru finishes laughing. He digs his cell phone out of his bag and makes the call; it’s not long before they have food, which they make quick work of at the table before retreating for the living room. Hajime takes pity on Tooru and picks a movie they’ll _both_ like, much to Tooru’s delight.

“You’re being nice to me today, Iwa-chan,” Tooru says when he sees the selection, dropping some drinks down on the table for them.

Hajime shrugs, settling back on the couch. He props his feet up on the table and makes himself comfortable. “Yeah, well, I like this one just as much.” He shifts a little when Tooru flops down next to him, letting out a contented sigh.

Tooru stretches his legs out in front of himself before settling them across Hajime’s lap. He feels warm and nervous, knowing that he’s testing their limits a bit, stretching the boundaries-

But Hajime settles his hand on top of his legs, posture relaxed, eyes focusing on the screen in front of them.

Tooru smiles as he settles in, happy to watch anything Hajime’s picked for them.

He doesn’t miss the way that Hajime draws circles with his thumb across Tooru’s knee.

* * *

 

Even when they make it to college, Tooru is too stubborn to give up their weekly sleepovers.

And, well, - like hell Hajime would let him, anyway.

Their colleges are only a half an hour apart, an hour by train at most - they rotate who’s place they stay at, someone always brings food and they make a night of it. Even when they’re both exhausted from exams, their part-time jobs and putting up with annoying roommates-

This one night a week is their solace.

Their solace where they don’t have to communicate through text messages or rushed phone calls where Tooru _always_ falls asleep once he’s comfortable in bed, Hajime following suit shortly thereafter-

Tooru’s waiting, excited, when he hears a knocking at his door before it swings open wide.

“Tooru? Hey, I’m here,” Hajime calls from the door. Tooru gets up to greet him as Hajime steps out of his shoes, tucking them away in the closet.

“Iwa-chan!” Tooru grins as he steps close, not hesitating in pulling him in for a nice, tight hug.

Hajime squeezes him back, laughing softly. “Good to see you too,” he says, pulling away only after they’ve both gotten their fix. “I brought food.” He holds up the brown paper bag in his hand, grinning widely.

Tooru returns his smile. “My hero.” He takes the bag from his hands, leading him back to the couch where he’s already set up a couple of plates, drinks and his favourite big fluffy blanket.

“We get the living room to ourselves today?” Hajime asks, shrugging off his coat. “Where’s the roommate?”

“Oh, Koushi’s off spending the weekend back home with his boyfriend, so we do!” Tooru sets out the food, kicking off his slippers as he drops down on the couch. “In perfect time, too, because as much as I really do like him, I could _not_ stand another day of listening to that shitty K-Pop of his - he listens to it all the time when he’s stressed, which I get it, exams, but the music was starting to stress _me_ out, and it’s hard enough to get to sleep with everything else going on-” Tooru pauses, taking a deep breath. “Sorry. Yes, we have the apartment to ourselves tonight.”

“No need to apologize,” Hajime says, shaking his head, “I get it. I’m glad we could still get together tonight even though things are so crazy.” He drops himself down on the sofa, settling in next to Tooru.

“Me too. This is one of the few things keeping me sane at this point.” He chuckles, sighing and leaning against Hajime’s shoulder.

“Things been alright?” Hajime asks, reaching up to run a hand through Tooru’s hair, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of his neck.

“Just a lot going on. You know how it is. Work, school - I’m sure it’s the same for you.” Tooru sighs into the touches, finally starting to relax, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.

Hajime smiles.

“Yeah, but only a few more exams then we have break.” Hajime slides his hand down to pull Tooru close by the shoulder, squeezing him. “And we’ll get a couple of weeks where we don’t have any responsibilities other than feeding ourselves and putting on pants.”

Tooru laughs. “Pants are optional, by the way.”

Hajime snorts, pulling away to reach for some of the food. “Fine by me, but the food is a necessity.” He opens up one of the containers, scooping out a portion of rice for himself, and then one for Tooru on his plate. He grabs the mixed vegetables and repeats the process. “Good food, too. Not just popcorn and pink Starburst.”

Tooru nudges Hajime in the ribs, “And here I thought you were being nice to me today.”

Hajime just rolls his eyes, finishing dishing out the food and handing Tooru his plate. “I am. Now eat up, I brought the movie you wanted to watch.”

“You did!” Tooru grins, accepting the food; he pulls up his feet on the couch so that Hajime can get up and go put in the movie. He takes a few bites of the food, sighing appreciatively. “I take it all back. You are being too nice to me. You know how much I like shrimp rice!”

Hajime starts up the movie, chuckling as he turns back to Tooru. “Yeah, and you know how I don’t eat shrimp.” He returns to his spot, settling back in and pulling the blanket around the two of them before lifting up his plate.

“So I can have them?” Tooru asks, smiling mischievously before stealing one of the shrimps right off Hajime’s plate with his chopsticks.

“All yours,” Hajime clarifies, chuckling under his breath as he passes Tooru another piece, putting it on his plate for when he’s ready for it. Tooru’s smile widens and he takes a few more pieces as the movie starts up.

They settle back into their routine seamlessly. Once they’re done eating, Hajime piles their plates on the end of the coffee table so that he has room to put his feet up, letting Tooru stretch his long legs across his lap, relaxing against his side. Tooru wiggles his hand in behind Hajime, resting his arm behind him and moving his fingers in soft circles across his arm.

They’re so much more free now. Tooru’s not quite sure how he’d define their relationship, but really-

That’s the beauty of it.

He doesn’t feel the need to - and neither does Hajime. They can just do what feels right and figure the rest out along the way.

Right now, it’s what they both need.

* * *

 

The end of college bring about change after change for Hajime and Tooru.

They both graduate, and take different career paths. Hajime goes for an apprenticeship in the city while Tooru accepts a position abroad where he’s given the chance to continue his learning and travel.

Tooru thinks a lot about how he feels about Hajime, how much he cares about him, and he _almost_ doesn’t take the job-

But of course, it’s Hajime who encourages him. And he knows, knows that he has to find out who he is on his own before they could ever have a chance together.

It’s hard, being away from each other for so long. They go months and months without being able to see each other in person, their only form of contact grainy Skype calls and endless texts of a conversation that never really has a clear end or beginning - they just pick it up whenever they have time to grab their phone, between hours of work or time spent at leisure.

Tooru learns a lot during his time away, but what he realizes the most is how much he misses Hajime.

_Hajime._

His best friend.

His support system.

The person who has been there for him through _everything_.

Hajime was there when his father was sick, and all they could do was wait to see if he would pull through.

Hajime was there when they lost their final chance at going to the National volleyball tournament, when their hopes were smashed yet again.

Hajime has been there for as long as Tooru can remember - from the time they were small all the way through college. He has helped Tooru come to terms with who he is, figure out what he wants to be, _who_ he wants to be-

Hajime’s his best friend, but that’s never all he’s been.

It’s taken them some time to get here, but Tooru’s sure it’ll be well worth the wait.

He did tell Hajime that he was coming back, but he didn’t expect his flight to get bumped up, landing him in the airport back home at three in the morning, six hours before he was supposed to get there.

Standing in the airport, Tooru thinks about calling Hajime, but-

His feet move before he even has the chance to think about it.

He’s heading out the door, jumping into the first cab that he sees. He gives off the address to Hajime’s place - he hasn’t even visited it yet, Hajime moved while he was away but he knows the address like the back of his hand from all the letters he’s sent there, all the parcels.

He knows there’s no way Hajime is even awake yet, but. He doesn’t let that stop him.

Tooru hurriedly pays the cab driver and stumbles out of the car, slamming the door shut behind himself. It’s dark, and even with the light on in front of Hajime’s house, he can’t see much of it but from what he can see-

It’s perfect.

It’s just what he would have imagined for Hajime.

It’s small, one-storey; but there’s a small garden out front, the steps to the house looking like they’ve recently been fixed up, carefully patched to avoid any cracks. Tooru steps down the path slowly, taking in his surroundings, when it all hits him at once.

He’s here, he’s here, he’s _here-_

He’s knocking at Hajime’s door with urgency, his fingers trembling with anticipation. His stomach is flopping with nerves because _what if he’s not here,_ what if Hajime didn’t wait for him-

The door swings open and Tooru freezes in spot.

Hajime’s blinking at him, looking sleepy and confused, taking in the sight of him before his eyes go wide.

“...Tooru?” He whispers, pushing the screen door of his house open, stepping out in his bare feet, “But- you- it’s too early-”

“My plane got in early,” he explains, fingers catching on the edge of the door. “I was going to call, but I- I couldn’t wait, I had to come-”

Hajime interrupts him with a hug, throwing his arms around him and pulling him in close, fitting him tight to his chest. Tooru can feel how fast Hajime’s heart is beating like this, and he squeezes Tooru _so_ tight it makes his heart ache.

“Tooru, Tooru, fuck, I- I thought I had time- to figure out what to say-” Hajime mumbles, face pressed against Tooru’s neck.

“I did, so let me,” Tooru says, pulling away enough so that he can look Hajime in the face. “All this time we’ve spent like this has been so, so important, Hajime… You helped me figure out who I am… what I want. You always made me feel safe and cared about, and I… I really appreciate our friendship…” He clenches his jaw, steeling his resolve. “But I - I’m selfish… I want more… I want all of you- I love you, I _love you-_ ”

He gasps when Hajime pulls him in again, hands grasping his shoulders, fitting him in tight to his chest. Hajime’s laughing, he’s _laughing_ , shoulders shaking and eyes wet-

“Me too,” he says, still laughing, “Me too, I- I love you too, Tooru, love you so much-” He’s cut off when Tooru presses in close, finally, _finally_ , pressing their lips together in a kiss.

 _God,_ it’s so much more than Tooru could have ever imagined.

Hajime kisses him back fiercely, with so much passion that it leaves Tooru breathless; he holds him tightly, pulling back only to whisper against Tooru’s lips, “Sleepover with me, tonight?”

Tooru catches his breath, shaky hands gripping the front of Hajime’s shirt. “Please, Hajime.”

Hajime smiles, dipping down again to kiss him once more before pulling him in. “Bed’s already warm…”

* * *

 

Even when they’re been married for a few years and living together for even more, their weekly sleepovers (“We should just call it movie night, Tooru, we sleep together _every night”_ ) are still a carefully enforced tradition.

Tooru settles himself in on the couch after they’ve had dinner, flicking through their options of movies to stream, humming as he makes his selection.

“Anything good on?” Hajime asks as he enters the living room, having finished washing the dishes. He drops himself down on the couch next to Tooru, snuggling in close instinctually. Tooru chuckles when Hajime noses against his neck.

“Yeah, I picked one. Are you ready?” Tooru asks, moving on the couch to make more room for Hajime, who settles in behind him to draw Tooru up against his chest and snuggles him in close.

“Mhm,” Hajime nods, nuzzling Tooru. “Go ahead.”

Tooru starts the movie, settling back into Hajime’s touches. He relaxes as Hajime moves his hands down Tooru’s sides, sliding up the hem of his shirt, hands warm. His touches are slow and soft, sensual and romantic - Tooru tilts his head back and rests it on Hajime’s shoulder, sighing softly when Hajime starts rubbing circles against his hips with his thumbs.

“Hajime,” Tooru whispers, chuckling when Hajime starts to kiss down the back of his neck, soft and sweet and slow until right at his _ticklish spot-_

“Hajime!” Tooru laughs now, wiggling in Hajime’s grip but he’s being held tightly; Hajime keeps pressing hard kisses against his neck, tongue running out and tickling him. Tooru laughs and tries to break himself free, lacing his fingers with Hajime’s and pulling, but Hajime’s got him in too good of a spot and he can’t break free. “Mean, mean, _mean-_ ” Tooru snorts, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

“You know what you have to say,” Hajime whispers in his ear, chuckling as he nibbles on Tooru’s earlobe, another ticklish spot, _damn him_ he knows him so well-  
“I give!” Tooru laughs, managing to squirm around when Hajime finally lets his grip go slack. “You win.” He only pouts a little as he turns around to face Hajime, sliding his legs around on either side of him.

Hajime grins at him, leaning forward to give him a small kiss of apology, but Tooru’s smiling into the kiss. “How many is that for me?”

The corners of Tooru’s lips tug up into a smile and he drapes his arms around Hajime’s shoulders. “How did you know I was still keeping count?”

That earns him a kiss to the nose before Hajime rubs their noses together. “Because I am too, love.”

Tooru’s still smiling as he squeezes Hajime tighter. “A hundred and seven?” He settles himself back against Hajime, turning so that he can see the screen again. Hajime waits until Tooru is settled and comfortable before wrapping his arms around him and kissing the top of his head.

“To your hundred and five,” Hajime says, lacing their fingers together.

Tooru knows he loves Hajime, he always knows it-

But in moments like this, he can feel how much Hajime loves him back.

Their journey might have been long, and it wasn’t always easy - but it was so incredibly worth it. One thing that will never change through the ages is Hajime and Tooru - and how much they care about each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on [tumblr](http://josai.tumblr.com)!  
> I'd love to know what you thought - leave a comment if you can! Thanks!


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